Publisher: 2000 AD Rebellion
Writers: John Wagner, Dan Abnett, Andrew Williamson, Ian Edgington, Kek-W
Artists: Carlos Ezquerra, INJ Culbard, Tilen Javornik, D’Israeli, Dave Kendall
Release date: UK & Digital 22 March 2017/ North America 22 April 2017
Price: UK & Digital £2.65 North America $7.99
2000 AD Prog 2023 promises “Five Zarjaz New Stories” with “Maximum Thrill Power” under the banner title “Punch It”. It would be churlish to contradict them. Of the five featured tales, my favourite has to be the Judge Dredd centred “Get Jerry Luff”. Hey, the big guy has been my hero for forty years, so sue me.
“Get Jerry Luff” is a fable for our times starting with a piece of graffiti, “Get Jerry Luff”, scrawled on the side of Donald Trump Block. The number of times John Wagner inserts the name Donald Trump into the narrative you’d think he was someone important! Anyway, Jerry Luff turns out to be a seedy, over the hill cabaret singer, the sort you love to hate, and in the urban hell of Mega City One, this piece of urban scrawl is taken as a command from on high and the sleazy Mr Luff soon finds himself at the centre of a murderous hate campaign. Naturally, Judge Dredd soon gets to the bottom of things and just when, for perhaps the first time ever, the perp looks set to walk away scot free, Mega City One provides it’s very own sting in the tale. Neat, compact and grimly amusing as ever; what more could you ask for?
Of the other four stories in 2000 AD PROG 2023, “Brink: Skeleton Life Part One” gives us the intro to a haunted space satellite story; the black and white rendered “Best Brain In The Galaxy” is a battle of the sexes, be careful what you wish for kind of thing; “Scarlet Traces Cold War Part One” re-ignites Earth/Martian enmity and “Cursed: The Fall of Deadworld Part One” sees Judge Fairfax and his ward, Jess, defy the Dark Judges as they seek a place of safety on the planet known as Deadworld.
2000 AD Prog 2023 is a riotous mix of the slickest sci-fi entertainment in this or any galaxy. Go ahead Earthlet, make Dredd’s day and buy it now….punk…..
Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker